Volleyball clubs rebel

While Tlhaselo has thwarted BG Sport’s advances for an interview and declined to shed any light on why he really left, the November article by Mmegi stated that he had been the most frustrated by the BVF President’s leadership, a matter that Lebala admitted to have been detrimental to progress. Lebala said it was so serious that the committee had to sit the two leaders down, with the eventuality of Magang apologising for her misdeeds and promising the committee that she would change her ways of doing things. A source within the association’s committee says no real change was realized from the president, which led to the eventual resignation of Mbangwa in November, and Tlhaselo two months later.

Of late the committee is reported to have even bypassing the president on some deals in order for the association to progress. A source says before they resigned, Mbangwa and Tlhaselo had secretly engaged an apparel company to sponsor volleyball teams, and that progress stalled when they left. This, sources say, was happening because the leader was accused of interfering in what responsive officers of the committee were doing, leading to failure of some projects. Reports even say that this week, some BVF Committee members went behind their leader’s back to continue a league sponsorship deal with a government entity without the president as it is felt her presence often spoils fortunes. If things go according to plan, volleyball clubs may eventually return to the courts for a league competition as negotiations that excluded the president seemed to have gone smoothly.

Lebala expressed disappointment in how things have been going within the organization but hoped for things to improve. He said the recent snub of the Congress by clubs felt like a slap in the face. Lebala told BG Sport that the unexpected setback has resulted in a significant financial loss for the BVF, adding that they were working to reschedule the congress and set a new date before the end of the week .

He stated that their next congress should be held before the end of the following week, as there were many matters that needed to be addressed. He said that the dates for the next congress were yet to be finalized, and urged all clubs to make every effort to attend. “As per our constitution, we required 10 out of our 15 clubs to be present for the congress to proceed. However, only 8 clubs showed up and we waited for hours, hoping that the other clubs would arrive, but in the end we had to call the congress off,” Lebala stated.

On speculation that the clubs may not be happy with the leadership, Lebala stated that, to his knowledge, the executive has a good relationship with its member clubs, but added he had no clue why some did not show up nonetheless. “Even if they have issues with the leadership, the Congress is a good place for them to raise their concerns and make suggestions for improvement,” he added.

BG Sport was able to establish the clubs that did not attend but attempts to speak to their leaders on why they failed to attend the Congress were met with rejection, with almost all of them saying they would not want to go on record about the happenings at BVF. One said they found it improper to speak on record about why they could not make it when such information has not been shared with the Federation. Another hinted at the frustration of changed dates when they had already changed plans. The club official who sought anonymity said the congress was initially called for March 29, and when they had already made plans to attend, a letter came postponing the meeting to the next weekend. This was corroborated by another club official who also said they had moved their own plans to March 6 after March 29 had been the initial date for the Congress. Another simply said they were held up, without sharing details. Confirmation was made that indeed the Congress was initially scheduled for March 29, but was postponed after some clubs noted that they would be away for Easter holidays.“Their failure to attend the congress was disappointing, and it cost us money since we had already paid for the venue and catering. We are now in the process of deciding whether the next congress should be held virtually or physically. We are exploring all options to ensure that we can move forward and make the best decisions for the future of the Federation,” Lebala said. He added: “According to our constitution, the Congress is the highest authority within the Botswana Volleyball Federation. Without the Congress, we cannot function effectively and we cannot move forward in a positive direction. We also need to comply with the standards set by the Botswana National Sport Commission ( BNSC) and other organizations, and failure to do so reflects poorly on the image of volleyball in Botswana.”

It is reported that the Congress had been intended to be used to fill up the vacant positions as is dictated by the BVF Constitution. However, affiliates say they had no clue who would be roped in.

“The annual Congress is also where we finalize the calendar of events for the upcoming year, and, if there are any vacant positions on the Executive Board, the Congress has the authority to elect new members. However, in this case, the resignation of two members of the Executive Board has caused some difficulties. The constitution states that the Executive Board can select interim members to fill these positions until the next Congress, but because the recent Congress was unsuccessful, these positions have not been filled. This is causing some problems for the Federation,” he said. He has appealed to affiliates to attend when the next Congress is called, saying any grievances from them can be addressed there.